Homeschool Hacks
by NeneJPhilly
Summary: Changeling's sick & just in time for school. (oneshot)(Love You Universe)(COMPLETE)


"Achoo!" Changeling sneezed. He shifted into a penguin then shifted back.

Cyborg took the thermometer out of his mouth. "Great. You're sick."

Changeling shivered. "Shouldn't I be the one to say that?"

"It's just when you get sick, you get _sick_. You stay sick for weeks  & it really throws off your game. All of our game actually. & you're highly contagious."

"I know." Changeling blew his nose on a special aloe tissue.

"Especially when you have a newborn. Bas can't be anywhere near you."

"Aww man. & he just stopped crying, too."

"You need to concentrate on getting better. You're in quarantine until your fever breaks."

"What about Rae?"

The door slid open & Raven peeked in. "He's sick, isn't he?"

"Oh yeah. Germed to the hilt." Cyborg confirmed. "He's in quarantine."

"I'll sleep in Charlotte's room." Raven came in to get a few things so she wouldn't have to come back.

"Who's going to take care of me?" Changeling pouted.

"Bee has great bedside manner." Cyborg shrugged. "Drink your fluids, keep warm & for the love of everything, stay in this room! Only come out to use the bathroom or if the building is on fire."

"That's not fair."

"Life's not fair." Cyborg walked out.

"Rae!" Changeling whined. His cold made him sound like he said "way".

"I have to leave, Gar." Raven slid her duffle bag onto her shoulder.

"Please don't leave me." He gave her "the face".

She nearly drowned in his sage irises. She shook herself. "No. I have two children, who can't afford to get sick."

"But-"

"It's your own fault for tempting fate. I told you that staying constantly wet this summer was going to backfire on you."

"I was hot." He stuck his bottom lip out.

"& now you're sick. You were doing so well. You haven't been sick in nearly two years."

"It's not like when I was sick with my parents." He sulked.

"What do you mean? Because we have to keep twelve yards between us & you at all times to keep from catching your fatal flus?"

"No. When I was little, my mom would always tell me that any day away from me was unbearable & that if I were to look up at the moon, it'd be the same one she'd be looking at & we'd be connected."

She turned to look at him but he was looking down.

"It made me think about the moon a lot. I used to go to the library in the village I grew up in & checked out all the books on the moon I could find. There wasn't much. But I learned all I could about this mysterious floating rock that could always connect me to my mother."

That sounded really beautiful to her.

"I used to think about how it would feel to go to the moon. How those first astronauts felt. How scared they must have been. How excited. Then I became… what I am & I flew for the first time. Then I found out how they felt. It made me feel even closer to her."

"You miss her." She realized.

"She used to bring me tomato soup & grilled cheese when I was sick. She'd make me Ginger water & give me candy canes. I'd sleep in her & my dad's bed with a ton of covers. She'd sing me songs & have my dad play his old records & they'd dance for my entertainment." He shrugged.

"I'll come visit you. When your fever breaks." She came over & kissed his head then fled the room.

He smiled to himself & slid deeper under the covers.

Home

Nightwing finished what he was working on & lifted the special wooden desk to the light. Since taking a woodworking class, he liked to build little things but this desk (& its mate) was the biggest thing he'd ever attempted.

The desk had a chair connected to it & was tiny to fit tiny bodies. He brought both upstairs from the garage & set them side by side in a room that had plenty of light.

Nothing else was in the room but a white erase board & a folding table & matching chair. He arranged everything in the room so it'd be just right.

He was nervous because he'd drawn first straw on who would teach the kids. Everyone decided to pitch in & do it. The kids would have the same teacher for a week then it'd switch to someone else.

Nightwing had no idea how to do this. He couldn't remember grade school (he barely went) & it was such a long time ago. He hoped he didn't get preschool & kindergarten wrong.

"Daddy!" Christopher ran in with Starfire, Raven & Charlotte on his heels. "I'm ready for school!"

"Alright!" Nightwing high-fived him.

Charlotte looked over the room. "There's no alphabet."

"Alphabet?" Nightwing was confused.

"Chris said his preschool had the alphabet around the room." She clarified.

Nightwing felt like swearing. "I'll get one tomorrow. Now if you will sit in your seats, we can begin."

The toddlers sat down.

Nightwing went over to the moms. "How's Gar?"

"He's sick." Raven told him.

"Oh no!" Starfire hated when Changeling got sick. It always got worse before it got better & as foreign as she was to Earth diseases, she knew he got sicker than anybody else.

"Bumble Bee is going to take care of him while I stay with Charlotte. Cyborg hopes he can recover quickly."

"We're going to be a man down for a while at least." Nightwing said. "Make sure you stay away from him, Starfire."

"I know." Starfire was highly susceptible to Changeling's colds.

"Are you two going to sit in?" He really didn't want to be observed doing this. Not until he had a handle on it.

"No. We are going to play with young Sebastian."

Raven lifted the baby monitor in her hand. "He should be waking up pretty soon."

"He's got a great life. He sleeps & eats all day." Nightwing grinned.

"It's all we can hope for." Raven's face remained blank.

"We will do the checking in on you later." Starfire waved. She & Raven left.

Nightwing rubbed his hands together & strode to in front of the two patiently waiting toddlers. "Welcome to homeschool! Guess what we're going to do today?"

"Playing?" Christopher hoped.

"Not yet, buddy." Nightwing smiled at his son. "We're going to learn to write our names."

"I can spell my name!" Christopher said excitedly. "C-H-R-I-S!"

"Very good. What about you, Charlie?"

"C-H-A-R-L-I-E." Charlotte told him.

"Nice. I'm going to write the alphabet on the board & I want you to pick the letters that spell out your name."

Home

Changeling lifted his head feebly when the door opened. "Cy?"

"It's me." Bumble Bee came in with a tray. "How you holding up, Broccoli Stalk?"

"Like I've been eaten by a Mac truck."

"Ouch." She came over & set the tray on the nightstand. "I've got a surprise for you."

"You're going to extinguish the sun?" He moved his head.

"No. Look what I've brought you."

He turned back & saw the tray. He smiled. It was grilled cheese, tomato soup, Ginger tea & peppermint candies. "How'd you know?"

"A little bird told me." She produced a spoon. "Can you eat on your own?"

He lifted a hand. "Yeah." It shook violently until he dropped it. "No."

"Okay." She dipped the spoon into the thick soup then lifted it to his lips. "Open up. It's hot."

Changeling kept his mouth closed.

"Come on, C." She swirled the spoon in front of his mouth.

"Do the airplane."

"What?"

"Like you do for Cal." He said. "Do the airplane."

She looked at him like he was crazy before moving the spoon. She made sounds with her mouth. "Make way for the airplane!"

He opened his mouth & accepted the bite. "Yum."

"Silly." She raised a brow as she dipped the spoon again. "Why on Earth do you want the airplane?"

"My dad used to do the best airplane. My mom would make him do it when I got sick."

"Days like this make you miss them, huh?" She fed him.

He swallowed. "Yeah. It's the little things. Like how they used to take care of me."

"Mine comes up when I'm doing things with Cal. I repeat things my mom used to say verbatim. It's like her mind has entered me & comes out of my mouth."

"It's freaky, right?" He smiled. "I try to sound like my dad."

"I don't know. I don't try to sound like my mom. It just happens. It's mostly telling him no & singing."

"Mine is telling her yes & singing."

"These kids will never know how good we had it." She giggled.

"Yeah. I try to play with her as much as possible. Just in case something happens to me."

"Try to shore up as many memories as possible."

"Oh yeah. As much as I miss my parents, I had a great childhood with them & I remember as much as I can."

"That's how it is for me. I remember playing with my daddy & cooking with my mom. She'd make Sunday dinner every Sunday & it was this big production."

"My mom liked to cook, too but my dad was the one to make it a big deal. He'd praise her & act like she made the best meal ever, even if it was just beans & rice."

"Our dads sound just alike. My father made a big deal out of everything my mother did. He always brought her flowers & he kissed her every time he thought about it."

"My parents were into PDA, too. & my dad brought my mom flowers that he picked every day. He'd write her songs on his guitar & they were terrible. He did not have a way with words."

Bumble Bee laughed. "My dad would dedicate songs over the radio to her. All these old jazz songs & the new R&B songs that just came out. He'd say "This is our song" & it'd be until he found a new one."

"I should do that for Rae." He laughed raspily until he started coughing.

"Take it easy." She set the bowl aside & picked up the mug of tea. "Here. Take a drink."

Changeling sipped gingerly. His coughing subsided. "Thanks."

"Are you still hungry?" She gestured to the bowl.

He shook his head. "I'm tired."

"Okay. You rest. I'll be back in half an hour." Bumble Bee set the mug down then left.

Changeling snuggled under the covers & smiled. It felt good to talk about his parents. He wasn't lamenting on their death but instead rejoicing in their lives. It made him feel as if they were still there, with him.

Home

"Very good, Charlie." Nightwing peered over her shoulder.

She smiled & continued on her art project, a color by numbers sheet.

"Let's look at yours, Chris." He turned to look at his son.

Christopher had glued elbow macaroni to a page in the pattern of the sun. "Do you like it, Daddy?"

"Yeah, it's great." Nightwing praised him. "When it's dry, we're going to hang them up so everybody can see."

"Yay!"

Home

Starfire handed Sebastian back to Raven. "I must go."

Raven reached for the pacifier the orange girl held out. "You're going on one of your outings with Clark?"

"Yes. We are going to get the iced cream." Starfire nodded.

"J'onn said we could do the same."

"You should, Friend Raven!" Starfire grew excited. "We could go together!"

Raven smirked. "I think the first one should be alone."

Starfire shrugged good-naturedly. "I must go. I will see you when I return."

"You're just going for ice cream?"

"We may also preview the movie. He said that we were to play the loose goose."

Raven's eyes widened but she didn't laugh. Too bad a few tubes of paint showed up anyway. "Have fun."

"Thank you, friend!" Starfire chirped before running a hand over Sebastian's slight curls. She left the room & stopped by her own to run a brush through her hair.

She put on lipstick & mascara before finding a tiny purse. She left her room & flew to where she was meeting Clark, an ice cream parlor near the boardwalk.

She went inside & smiled at people who waved to her. She looked around & spotted Clark's black hair near the back. She walked towards him then sat across from him. "Greetings, Father."

"Kori!" Clark brightened.

"How are you on this bright & sunny day?"

"I'm good. & you?"

"I am doing well, thank you."

"How are things at the Tower?"

"Brother Changeling is ill."

"What's wrong with him?" Clark frowned.

"He has taken to his bed. Raven has said that he is very sick."

"I should go see about him."

"I am sure he would like that very much."

Clark snorted.

Home

"Are you up?" Bumble Bee came inside.

Changeling snored noisily.

"Yeah, you're still sleep." She came to the bed & ran a wet towel over his feverish skin. She gave him a quick rundown with the towel before seeing that all the tea was gone.

She picked up the mug & left.

Home

Nightwing looked over the board. "How did you get to this?"

"Mommy told me that a number by itself is times." Charlotte looked up at him.

"It is. But this is addition, Charlie."

"I'm confused."

Nightwing was sure it was an isolated event. "Addition is just something plus something else. You're doing multiplication. The answer is ten, not twenty five."

"So it's not five by five?"

"No, it's five plus five."

"So it's ten?"

"Yes, it's ten."

"Okay."

He wrote another problem on the board. "Okay, do this one."

"Hey!" She glared up at him. "It's four either way!"

Nightwing smiled. "Math humor."

"You're as funny as Daddy."

"Ouch."

She smiled slightly. "You're a little better."

"Thanks." He chuckled. "Okay, Chris. Your turn. What is eight plus eight?"

Home

Changeling awoke from a hellish dream, soaked in sweat. He breathed deeply & tried to still his heart.

He rolled over & saw the moon outside the window. It was night but he was still hot. He grappled with the nightstand to reach his mug of tea. He drank deeply from it then set it back.

He laid back & breathed deeply. He rubbed his hands over his face & concentrated on breathing. It took a while but he finally calmed down.

His ears were as clogged as his nose. It was why he didn't hear the door slide open. He didn't notice when someone slid into the bed with him.

He did feel when arms wrapped around him. He started & opened his bleary eyes. "Rae?"

Raven nodded. "Shhh. I'm here."

"But you have to stay away from me. Bas & Charlie can get sick." He feebly tried to push her away.

"I can stay with you until you fall asleep again." She brushed his hair off his wet face.

He relaxed & fell limp in her arms. "How did you know?"

"I always know. I can feel it."

"It was terrible. I was back on that boat. I could hear the falls. I could see them clearly. I could even smell the wet heat." He shook his head.

"You're here now. With me." She patted his back awkwardly. This wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of losing his parents.

"With you?"

"With me. & Sebastian & Charlotte & all our friends."

"This isn't just a dream & I'm really stuck in a cage somewhere?"

"This is no dream."

Changeling relaxed & his ears popped. "Ow."

"What's wrong?" She peeked into his face.

"My ears popped. & I think I hear Bas crying."

"Through two sound proof rooms? How?"

He shrugged. "I could be wrong."

"I'll be right back." She slid out of bed.

He laid back in bed & counted down the moments until she returned.

When she came back, she slid back into bed & held him.

"Was I right?" He knew full well he was right. She'd been gone for twenty minutes.

"Yes, you were right. He woke up wet."

Changeling smiled. "This must be heaven."

Raven smirked. "Changing diapers in the middle of the night? Real heavenly."

"I love you, Raven." He smiled into her chest.

She patted his back. "I love you, too."

He closed his eyes & drifted off into a peaceful sleep about a purple haired angel with green haired & black haired cherubs.


End file.
